"One of the UK's leading specialists in financial mis-selling…"
The Times
A regulated investment usually refers to a collective investment, where your money is ‘pooled’ with other investors’ money and used to buy assets such as stocks and shares, property, or government or corporate bonds (e.g., loans to the government or companies). These investments can be purchased individually, but when funds are pooled (usually referred to as an ‘investment fund’), strict rules apply to how advisers recommend or sell them.
Under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA), anyone advising on collective investments must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It is a criminal offence to give such financial advice without authorisation. Authorised advisers must be qualified to give financial advice and follow regulatory rules, such as the Conduct of Business Sourcebook rules (COBs) and the Principles of Business. These require fair treatment of customers and ensure that any investment recommendations are suitable for their needs and risk profile.
A mis-sold investment occurs when an adviser negligently or deliberately recommends an unsuitable or misrepresented investment. Misrepresentation happens when information about the investment was incomplete, unclear, or inaccurate, or when key features and risks were not properly explained.
If you have been mis-sold an investment and lost a large sum of money, the experience can be extremely distressing. Our role is to listen, support you, and ensure the claims process is handled as smoothly as possible.
How your claim progresses will depend on the type of investment you were sold and the regulatory status of the parties involved.
ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts) are popular because of their tax benefits, allowing £20,000 to be invested annually, with income and capital gains sheltered from tax. Cash ISAs pay fixed interest, while stocks and shares ISAs invest directly in shares or collective investments, such as Unit Trusts and other funds, such as Investment Trusts, OEIC’s and Exchange Traded Funds. Although regulated, these products can still be mis-sold if they do not match your needs, risk profile, or financial circumstances.
As ISA providers are FCA-authorised, complaints can be made directly to them or to the authorised adviser who recommended the product. They must respond within eight weeks. If you are unhappy with the outcome, you can escalate the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which can award up to £430,000. If the firm cannot meet compensation payments, it may be declared in default, and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) may pay up to £85,000 instead. Default generally occurs where financial companies are or are about to go into administration or liquidation.
Investment funds, such as Unit Trust, Investment Funds, OEICs and ETFs can be purchased directly or via an ISA wrapper.
These funds do not provide financial advice, which makes a mis-selling claim against them difficult. Many transactions through investment platforms are “execution only,” meaning no advice was given and the platform simply carried out customer instructions. In these situations, they do not have to assess suitability. Claims usually only arise where an authorised financial adviser recommended the investment and did so negligently.
UCIS involve pooling funds but without FCA pre-authorisation. They often invest in illiquid or unusual assets such as off-plan foreign property, storage pods, agricultural land, gold mines or mini-bonds. These schemes are extremely high risk and are only permitted to be promoted to high-net-worth or sophisticated investors. Problems arise when they are sold to ordinary consumers who are not suitable for such investments.
Because UCIS and their promoters are often unregulated, victims may be unable to complain to FOS or FSCS and may need to pursue legal action. This becomes particularly challenging when operators have gone into liquidation or disappeared. However, successful claims are still possible where an authorised IFA negligently advised on the investment or where an authorised operator—such as a SIPP provider—failed to ensure the investment was suitable.
Standard documents created during any regulated investment sale are vital in proving mis-selling. These include:
There may also be relevant email correspondence. Even if you no longer have these documents, advisers are required to keep them, and they will be requested during the investigation.
Mis-selling claims are based on misrepresentation and negligence. Court proceedings must usually begin within six years of the contract date or negligent act. If the issue was not immediately apparent, you may have three years from the date you first realised, or should reasonably have realised, that there may have been negligence or breach of contract. A 15-year longstop applies. FOS and FSCS follow the same limitation rules.
If you’re unsure about the time limits for making a claim, our guide on investment mis-selling deadlines explains the six-year and three-year rules, along with key exceptions that may apply.
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“Many of our clients come to us feeling deeply stressed after discovering an investment wasn’t what they were promised. One of the most common issues we see is advisers presenting high-risk products as safe or failing to properly check whether the investment was suitable at all. Our job is to uncover what went wrong and calculate your full loss, including not just what you invested but what it could reasonably have grown to with proper advice. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t assume it’s too late or that nothing can be done. Getting the right help early can make a real difference.”
You may have been mis-sold an investment if important information was missing, misleading, or not properly explained. Common warning signs include:
With over 17 years focused on investment mis-selling, including Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes (UCIS) and complex investment products, we have the knowledge and experience to handle your claim confidently.
We’ve recovered more than £150 million for individuals mis-sold unsuitable or high-risk investments—helping people reclaim what they lost and protect their future.
With a 90% success rate for investment mis-selling cases we take on, you can trust us to pursue your claim with confidence and determination.
We work on a No Win, No Fee basis—absolutely no financial risk to you. Our fees are transparent, fair, and only calculated as a percentage of what we recover.
As a fully regulated law firm (SRA No. 468940), we’re trusted to handle your investment claim with complete professionalism.
Your case will be handled personally by an experienced solicitor from start to finish—no juniors, just expert, tailored service every step of the way.
Mr & Mrs S sold business properties to fund their retirement and sought low-risk investment options. Their bank advised them to invest in a high-risk managed fund, resulting in minimal returns. We secured £50,000 in compensation for them.
Mr & Mrs C asked for a secure investment to fund their retirement. Despite this, they were advised to invest £280,000 into a high-risk bond. When the investment fell in value, we acted on their behalf and successfully recovered £37,500 in compensation.
After selling their family home, Mr & Mrs A sought to invest cautiously to support their retirement. Their financial adviser recommended high-risk funds—without fully explaining the risks. Their investment dropped in value, but we successfully recovered over £30,000 in compensation.
We keep you informed every step of the way, from your free initial consultation through to pursuing compensation. Our specialist solicitors will manage the process on your behalf and provide clear advice throughout.
If you’ve lost money due to unsuitable investment advice, the last thing you need is the worry of additional legal costs. Our No Win, No Fee agreement allows you to pursue compensation without paying upfront legal fees.
What This Means for You
Claims involving speculative, illiquid, or unregulated investments that may have been unsuitable for retail investors.
Claims arising from unsuitable financial advice, poor risk assessments, or investments recommended to retirees and cautious investors.
Some investment losses involve fraud, fake investment schemes, or failures by Banks and financial institutions to prevent scams.
Tim qualified as a solicitor in 1997 and has more than 25 years of experience advising clients on professional negligence, financial mis-selling and complex civil litigation matters. He oversees the firm’s professional negligence cases and advises on case strategy.
Tim has reviewed this page to help ensure the legal information is accurate, up to date and relevant to individuals considering a potential claim.
If you can establish that an investment was mis-sold, you are entitled to compensation under the principle of restitution. This means putting you back in the position you would have been in but for the mis-selling.
For investments, compensation generally covers the money lost and the lost opportunity to invest appropriately. Statutory bodies like FOS and FSCS, following our landmark case of Adams v Options SIPP, now apply a “notional transfer value” to determine the lost investment opportunity. This allows you to claim not only the money lost but also what the investment would have been worth with suitable advice at the time.
Yes, there are strict time limits for bringing a mis-selling claim. Court proceedings must start within six years of the contract or negligent advice.
If a breach of contract or negligence was not readily apparent, there is a further three-year limit from when you first realised the issue.
Statutory bodies, FOS and FSCS, follow these limits. The 15-year longstop means any claim must be brought no later than 15 years from the act of mis-selling.
Direct investment funds, such as Unit Trust, Investment Funds, OEICs or ETFs generally do not provide financial advice. Many are purchased via “execution only” platforms, meaning the platform only follows your instructions.
You can usually only make a mis-selling claim if an authorised adviser recommended the investment negligently. Platforms themselves are under no obligation to assess suitability.
You can receive compensation only if you can show the investment was mis-sold through:
Standard time limits are six years, or three years from discovery if the breach was not apparent. A 15-year longstop applies, meaning investments made more than 15 years ago are generally time-barred.
The FSCS is the fund of last resort, compensating victims when a regulated company or adviser cannot meet obligations and has been declared in default. FSCS caps claims at £85,000 per institution.
You can still claim through the FSCS if a company becomes insolvent or cannot pay a compensation ruling.
No. We operate on a No Win, No Fee basis. Fees are only taken as a percentage of compensation if the claim is successful. If the claim is unsuccessful, there is nothing to pay.
We offer a free, confidential consultation to help you understand your legal options. Our specialist solicitors handle professional negligence, pension and investment mis-selling, and fraud recovery claims across England and Wales. From day one, we’ll give you clear, practical advice tailored to your situation.
Provide your details to start your free eligibility check. You’ll be guided through a few short questions so we can direct you to the right specialist and assess how we can help.
You do not need legal representation to make a financial services claim. You can complain yourself at no cost and under FCA rules, the financial services provider must provide a response. If you feel this is unsatisfactory, you can complain to the statutory redress bodies, the FOS and FSCS who can award you compensation. This is a free service.
The information appearing within this website does not constitute legal advice and is provided for general information purposes only. No warranty, whether express or implied, is given in relation to such material, and we do not accept any liability for reliance on it.
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